School Shootings and School Violence

Ever think about the things you say before you say them; ever think that something that you say might just push someone over the edge? Well I have, I am a freshman in high school and I know all about getting pushed around, called names, or just being bullied. School violence is increasing. Did you know that 71% of all school shootings are because of kids being bullied, Crazy right? Did you also know that people judge the appearance of people to see if the fit the “profile” of being a shooter? So basically there saying if he wears a trench coat he could be a shooter but if I, a non-trench coat wearer, ended up shooting a school people would say oh, she didn’t fit the profile. That doesn’t make sense! But if it were some one that kept to themselves and wore different clothes from the other kids they would automatically be pegged as someone who would be capable of pulling the trigger.

Did you know 1 in 12 students are threatened each year in school, and 77% experience verbal, mental of physical bulling, that’s more than half the students in school? In the 2006-2007 school years, there were 1.7 million nonfatal crimes committed at school, ranging from assault to theft. Nearly a third of American students reported a prevalence of drugs and gangs in their schools in 2010.the statistics are shocking, but as shocking as they are they still are true and they affect students all across America each day they get up and go to school.

Has someone ever made you so mad that you just wanted to turn around and teach them a lesson? Well in school shootings REVENGE is the most common reason for the shooting. Studies show that the shooter wanted to get back at the people that had hurt them mentally, and or physically. What’s even more shocking is that it’s not just in high school that kids are bullied. Middle school students are more than twice as likely as high school students to be affected by school violence. About 8% of eighth graders stay home at least once a month to avoid a bully. That’s nine days each year those students miss.

After, you have done something terrible do you ever think to yourself, if I wouldn’t have said that maybe this wouldn’t of happened? When you think about it you think that, but the thing is it has already happened. Yeah you can go to that person and say “I’m sorry” but it doesn’t change the fact that you said it. The damage is done. There is a book I read last year named The Hate List by: Jennifer Brown in this book there is a girl named Valerie. Valerie and her boyfriend nick are outcasts so to speak so they don’t get along well with some of the other kids so one day they come up with The Hate List. The Hate List is a list of people who nick and Valerie don’t get along with or just people who make fun of them. To Valerie it was just a way to express their feelings but to nick… it was much more. They both set out to school one day as normal but when they got to the school everything changed. Nick opened fire on the cafeteria. His targets were the people from their Hate List. In the mist, of trying to stop nick Valerie gets shot and then nick turns the gun on himself. The rest of the book is about how the school and Valerie learn to cope with what has happened. All because of a stupid list, no wait scratch that because of people. Apr. 28, 1999: A 14-year-old who had been BULLIED by his classmates, opened fire at W.R., Myers high school in Taber, Alberta, Canada, killing a 17-year-old student and wounding another student.

I know that we can’t change people but we can change the way they think. Whoever may be reading this I know you were once a kid and you once believed in something with all your heart maybe it was that you needed those new shoes you would just die without them, but after talking to you parents they changed your mind well maybe by reading this you can come to understand some of what drives these kids to do what they do. I’m not saying I condone this behavior but everyone wants to know “why” when the answer is right in front of them. They don’t have to fit the “profile” or be an angry kid they are just normal everyday human beings that are dealing with bullying and other difficulties.

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I really, really loved this!!! I totally agree with you. The way someone looks or acts doesn't determine their "violent side"; anyone is capable of anything. I definately don't support someone harming their bullies or enemies; however, I do understand why they would do something like that. People who do those things are clearly not as strong as me or you and that's the only way they know how to deal with their problems. Maybe if more people realized that leaving people alon... (more »)